The Finland–Sweden border (or Finnish–Swedish border) is the border between the countries of
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Almost the entire border runs through water: along the
Tornio River
The Torne, also known as the Tornio ( fi, Tornionjoki, sv, Torne älv, , se, Duortneseatnu, fit, Tornionväylä), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. For approximately half of its length, it defines the border between these two countr ...
and its tributaries, and in the
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast (West ...
. Only a few kilometres of the border are on dry land. Because of the
Schengen treaty
The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the te ...
and the
Nordic Passport Union
The Nordic Passport Union allows citizens of the Nordic countriesIceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finlandto travel and reside in another Nordic country without any travel documentation (e.g. a passport or national identity card) or a reside ...
, the border can be crossed mostly freely.
Course of the border
In the north, the Finnish–Swedish border begins from the
Treriksröset
The Three-Country Cairn ( fi, Kolmen valtakunnan rajapyykki, se, Golmma riikka urna, no, Treriksrøysa, sv, Treriksröset) is the point at which the international borders of Sweden, Norway and Finland meet, and the name of the monument that m ...
tripoint at the border of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, located in the
Koltajärvi lake near
Kilpisjärvi
Kilpisjärvi (; se, Gilbbesjávri ) is a village in the municipality of Enontekiö, Lapland, Finland. It is located in Finland's northern "arm" near the very northwesternmost point of Finland.
Although Kilpisjärvi is one of the largest villages ...
, which is also the northernmost point of Sweden. The first of the border are in straight lines and marked with border signs.
[Hallituksen esitys Eduskunnalle eräiden Suomen ja Ruotsin välisen valtakunnanrajan vuonna 2006 suoritetussa rajankäynnissä todettujen rajalinjan muutosten hyväksymisestä](_blank)
, 2007. Accessed on 10 November 2012. The border continues as a river border: first along a small river to Kuohkimajärvi, then along Kuohkimajoki to Kilpisjärvi, then along the rivers Könkämäeno, Muonionjoki and Tornionjoki, a total of down to
Tornio
Tornio (; sv, Torneå; sme, Duortnus ; smn, Tuárnus) is a city and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is ...
. The river border runs along the deepest parts of the rivers (the ''
Thalweg
In geography and fluvial geomorphology, a thalweg or talweg () is the line of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse.
Under international law, a thalweg is the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway that defines the bounda ...
''), and is not marked with border signs; instead the border location is defined by the official maps of the border protocol.
[Kansalaisen Karttapaikka](_blank)
Accessed on 10 November 2012.[Tätilä, Pekka: Suomen ja Ruotsin valtakunnanraja - vuoden 2006 rajankäynti. ''Maanmittaus'', 2011, 86th year, issue 2, pp. 42-52]
Online version
accessed on 19 October 2012. There are some border markers near Tornio where the border runs on land.
In Tornio, the border departs from the river: the centre of Tornio is located west of the river, but belongs to Finland. The border runs in straight lines for 4.03 kilometres between the cities of Tornio and
Haparanda
Haparanda (; fi, Haaparanta, , aspen shore or bank) is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland. Haparanda had a population of 4,856 in 2010, out of a municipal total of 10,2 ...
, and from there in straight lines 25.31 km as a maritime border mostly through sea, but also through islands including one called
Kataja
Kataja is an islet south of Haparanda in Norrbotten. It is the easternmost point of Sweden and it is part of the Haparanda archipelago. The islet has an area of . It is about long and wide.
The name "Kataja" is Finnish for juniper.
The island i ...
. In 1809 the border went between the islands Kataja and Inakari, but the
post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...
has caused them to join into a single island. The border continues as a maritime border to a point in the
Bothnian Bay
The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and w ...
, where the Finnish and Swedish territorial waters depart from each other.
In the
Bothnian Bay
The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and w ...
and the
Bothnian Sea
The Bothnian Sea ( sv, Bottenhavet; fi, Selkämeri) links the Bothnian Bay (also called the Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic proper. Kvarken is situated between the two. Together, the Bothnian Sea and Bay make up a larger geographical entity, t ...
, the Finnish and Swedish territorial waters are separated by international waters. In the
Norra Kvarken, the distance between land is down to , giving less than the normal to each country. Here a narrow channel of international water goes along an agreed path.
[Eniro kartor]
/ref> The territorial waters meet again in the Sea of Åland
The Åland Sea (or the Sea of Åland; sv, Ålands hav, fi, Ahvenanmeri) is a waterway in the southern Gulf of Bothnia, between Åland and Sweden. It connects the Bothnian Sea with the Baltic Sea proper. The western part of the basin is in Swed ...
, where the countries have a maritime border of 15 kilometres. The border crosses the island of Märket
Märket ("The Mark", ) is a small uninhabited skerry in the Baltic Sea shared by Sweden and Finland (in the area of the autonomous region Åland), with a lighthouse as its salient humanmade feature. Märket has been divided between the two cou ...
, which has a 470-metre long, complexly shaped border marked with border signs.
The international waters between the countries are divided into economic zones. The border between the economic zones mainly runs in straight lines through defined coordinate points. There have been agreements about the borders in 1972 and in 1994.[SOPIMUS Suomen ja Ruotsin välillä mannermaajalustan rajan määräämisestä Perämerellä, Selkämerellä, Ahvenanmerellä ja Itämeren pohjoisimmassa osassa](_blank)
1972. Accessed on 13 November 2012.[SOPIMUS Suomen tasavallan ja Ruotsin kuningaskunnan välillä Suomen mannermaajalustan ja kalastusvyöhykkeen sekä Ruotsin talousvyöhykkeen välisen rajan määräämisestä Ahvenanmerellä ja pohjoisella Itämerellä](_blank)
1994. Accessed on 13 November 2012. The zone border continues south into the northern Baltic Sea to a point where it meets the zone border of Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
. The tripoint between the economic zones is defined by a treaty signed in 2001.
History
The Finnish–Swedish border was created in 1809 by the Treaty of Fredrikshamn
The Treaty of Fredrikshamn ( sv, Freden i Fredrikshamn; russian: Фридрихсгамский мирный договор), or the Treaty of Hamina ( fi, Haminan rauha), was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 Se ...
, as Sweden ceded Finland over to the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. The course of the border was described in the fifth article of the treaty, without great detail. The borders were agreed to be the Sea of Åland, the Gulf of Bothnia, and the rivers Tornionjoki and Muonionjoki. Islands in the sea belonged to whichever country was the nearest to them. At the mouth of the Torniojoki river, the Pirkkiö island, the harbour of Röyttä
The Port of Tornio (Finnish language, Finnish: ''Tornion satama'', Swedish language, Swedish: ''Torneå hamn''), also known as the Port of Röyttä, is a cargo port located in the city of Tornio, Finland, at the end of the Bothnian Bay and clos ...
and the city of Tornio were agreed to belong to Russia. Along the rivers, the border was agreed to run along the deepest part of the river (''Thalweg''). The border ran up the Muonionjoki river and "past Kilpisjärvi to Norway".
The course of the border was amended in 1810 and small changes were later made. It has caused "sovereignty islands", which lie in one country but whose owners live in the other.
The island of Märket
Märket ("The Mark", ) is a small uninhabited skerry in the Baltic Sea shared by Sweden and Finland (in the area of the autonomous region Åland), with a lighthouse as its salient humanmade feature. Märket has been divided between the two cou ...
was decided to be split in two parts in a topographical description made in 1811.[Kruhse, Pauli]
Märket
''Suomen historian dokumentteja''. Accessed on 17 November 2012. The border was decided to run through the geographical centre of the island (defined by coordinates) in the treaty of Åland in 1921 and in the treaty of continental plates in 1972.[Ahvenanmaan demilitarisoinnin rajoja koskeva selvitys. Rajatyöryhmän mietintö](_blank)
2006, p. 4. Accessed on 10 November 2012. The Märket lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
, built in 1885 by Finland and operated by them, was left on the Swedish side. In 1981, the border on the island was modified into a curve to get the lighthouse on the Finnish side.
The border is agreed to be regularly inspected every 25 years. During the independence of Finland, inspections have been made in 1926–1927, 1956–1957, 1981 and 2006. These inspections include inspecting the course of the border, repairing the border signs if needed, and defining the location of the deepest parts of the river through aerial and terrestrial photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
. Especially in the wide, sandbanked areas of the rivers, the deepest parts shift in location. If the deepest part has shifted, the border may be shifted accordingly. For example, in the 2006 inspection, the border was shifted in many places, usually by 10 to 20 metres, but in some places up to 100 metres. A similar total area was moved from one country to another in both directions.
In 1995 both countries entered the European Union, and as a result most customs stations closed. In 2020, during the COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic, the border was closed to all crossings except necessary such as travelling home or important freight. A temporary fence was erected along the border right through the Haparanda-Tornio urban area.
Traffic
Because both Finland and Sweden are part of the Schengen area
The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
, the border may be crossed anywhere. If the traveller is carrying goods to be declared through customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
, the border may still be crossed anywhere, but the traveller must contact customs to declare his/her goods.
Through the entire river border, near the eastern shore, the Finnish national road 21
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language
Finnish ( endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic bra ...
/European route E8
The European route E8 is a European route that goes from Tromsø, Norway to Turku, Finland. The length of the route is .
* E8: Tromsø – Nordkjosbotn – Skibotn – Kilpisjärvi – Kaaresuvanto – Muonio – Tornio – Keminmaa – Kemi ...
runs between Tornio and Kilpisjärvi. The Swedish national road 99
Swedish national road 99 (), is a Swedish national road in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden between Haparanda and Karesuando. The length of the road is 360 km.
The road is an ordinary road with one lane in each direction without any m ...
runs near the western shore along most of the border. Bridges across the river border can be found in Karesuvanto
Karesuvanto or Kaaresuvanto ( se, Gárasavvon, sv, Karesuando) is a village in Enontekiö municipality, located in Finnish Lapland, the largest and northernmost region in Finland. It is located on the Muonio River, which follows Finland's weste ...
/Karesuando
Karesuando (; fi, Kaaresuvanto or ; Sami: , or ) is the northernmost locality in Sweden. It is situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden, with 303 inhabitants in 2010 and 350 in 2011.
It is a church village, located alongside ...
(road 959/E45), Muonio
Muonio (previously called ''Muonionniska'', se, Muoná) is a municipality of Finland. The town is located in far northern Finland above the Arctic Circle on the country's western border, within the area of the former Lappi (Lapland) province. T ...
(road 954/404), Kolari
Kolari is a municipality of Finland at the Swedish border, which follows the Torne River, the longest free-flowing river in Europe.
It is located in the region of Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which ...
(road 943/403), Pello
Pello (formerly Turtola) is a municipality of Finland. It is located approximately north of the Arctic Circle in the western part of the province of Lapland, and is part of the Lapland region. The municipality is on the national border with Sw ...
(road 937/402) and in Aavasaksa
Aavasaksa is a sharp-edged hill in Ylitornio municipality in Finnish Lapland. It has an elevation of . Aavasaksa is famous for its sights both towards Finland and Sweden, and it is included in the list of the National landscapes of Finland. Decora ...
/Övertorneå
Övertorneå ( fit, Matarengi; fi, Matarenki) is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Övertorneå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 1,917 inhabitants in 2010.
It is located at the shore of the Torne River, opposite to ...
(road 98).[Grönroos, Matti]
Valtatie 21 Tornio-Kilpisjärvi, 459 km
Accessed on 11 November 2012. There are also two river bridges in Tornio (one carries the European route E4
European route E4 passes from north to south through Sweden from the border with Finland, with a total length of . The Finnish part lies entirely within Tornio in northern Finland, and is only long. The Swedish part traverses most of Sweden ex ...
, also Finnish national road 29
Finnish national road 29 ( fi, Valtatie 29; sv, Riksväg 29) is a highway in Finland between Keminmaa and Tornio. The road is part of the European route E8, except for the one kilometer section between the national boundary and the intersection w ...
), but they don't cross the border. The border is crossed by three roads in Haparanda/Tornio. South of the centre, the Torne River Railway Bridge
The Torne River Railway Bridge is a dual gauge railway bridge between Haparanda, Sweden and Tornio, Finland; the 1524mm rails used for Finland, the 1435mm rails used for Sweden. A temporary ice river track was built over the Torne River in 1917. ...
crosses the river and the border.
In Haparanda
Haparanda (; fi, Haaparanta, , aspen shore or bank) is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland. Haparanda had a population of 4,856 in 2010, out of a municipal total of 10,2 ...
/Tornio
Tornio (; sv, Torneå; sme, Duortnus ; smn, Tuárnus) is a city and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is ...
, there is a bus station
A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is l ...
common to both cities, which was opened in 2014 and is located on the Swedish side near the border ().HaparandaTornio Travel Center
''haparandatornio.com''. Accessed in August 2015.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finnish-Swedish border
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
Borders of Sweden
European Union internal borders
1809 establishments in Finland
1809 establishments in Sweden
1809 in international relations
International borders